Category: Build Threads

Project Binky – Austin Mini GT-Four [video build]

The folks at Bad Obsession Motorsport must have a bad obsession with building bonkers cars, because they’re putting together quite the ball-tearing package. They’re taking a Mini (or what’s left of it) and stuffing it full of running gear from a Toyota Celica GT-Four. Yes, that’s a 4 cylinder turbo with all wheel drive. What’s better is that they’re documenting it all on video, with some token British dry humour (my favourite kind). Watching the guys cut, linish, fold, and weld hand-make bracketry and structural sections is making me want to get out into the garage more than ever. “Project Binky” will be one serious little Mini once completed.

I’ll be sure to update this post and let you know via the Facebook page when more videos are released.

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Jet-powered land-speed motorbike

Just when I think I’ve seen it all, when I think I can’t possibly be surprised at what pops up in my inbox, along comes Anders with his gas-turbined powered motorbike. When I actually figured out what I was looking at, all I could do is sit back and laugh in amazement. I consider myself so lucky that people like Anders want to email me their amazing projects, built using techniques that I can’t even begin to comprehend. To get to the point, I’ll let him explain what he’s got cooking…

I just found your website and thought I should show you my little project that has been going for 4 years and counting, it is a scratch built gas turbine motorcycle with which I aim to set a land speed record in the APS/Omega class at Bonneville Speed Week.

The turboshaft gas turbine is built by myself around a Garrett TV94 rotor with everything cast, turned and milled on my manual tools at home, I´ve spent three years on it and now I am about to test it for the second time in the bike frame. It should be capable of producing somewhere between 150-180hp on the rear wheel once everything is tuned in.

If you like milling, machining, lathes, jets, flames, welding, casting…hell, if you like anything mechanical, you’re going to love this. Don’t forget to check out the test video at the end of the post, and another bonus video of something else Anders and his crazy Swedish mates have added jet propulsion to. All hail the Scandinavians.

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Scratch-built Mid-engined sports car

Build, built, building. “I built my car”, “check out my build“, “have you seen this guy’s build?”. Has the word lost it’s meaning? I hear these sentences getting thrown around a lot, maybe too much, it seems to be the go-to word instead of saying you’ve “modified” a car. While I’m not prepared to sit and discuss the merits of this one term, I want you to take solace in knowing that there are still people out there who truly embody the word “build”. Just like the folks at Invision Prototypes, who take that simple word and turn it up to 11, by putting together this completely hand-built car, a mind-boggling exercise in metal shaping and forming. Seriously, just click below to see what I mean, you’ll be blown away by what you see.

Thanks to Peter for submitting.

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W12 powered VW Fridolin

What is this I don’t even? Apparently the VW Fridolin was designed as a postal service car, something I never knew (thank you Wikipedia). Somehow I think this particular one’s mail hauling days are over, especially considering it’s W12 (yes, W-freaking-twelve!) power-plant and Touareg rear end.

Thanks to Henning for submitting.

Click here for more VW builds.

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1975 BMW 2002

Do you guys even read these intros? Probably not! I mean how many times can you hear me say that this is one of my favourite types of builds, that the owner/builder is a craftsman, that the photos are great, etc etc? Well, you’ll have to hear it again, because this is one of those builds. What I really love about this BMW 2002 is that it was originally purchased as a daily driver, so the owner could keep his E46 in good condition, but the ’02 ended up being the main project and the E46 used to haul parts for it! Make sure you check out the custom solution the builder creates for adjusting the dampers in the front struts, it’s on page 25,+ very clever.

Click here for more BMW 2002 builds. Thanks to Archie for submitting.

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1985 Hino housetruck

Time to change gears again, it’s been a while since we’ve had something that isn’t a car/bike/garage to soak our eyeballs in. A little while back, Alex submitted his 1985 Hino truck to me. But this isn’t just any truck. While it might have started out as a regular flat-bed hauler, Alex and his partner spent many a day and night converting it into a bespoke wood cladded home complete with extendable slide-out sections, allowing them to explore the New Zealand landscape in the comfort of their own hand-built multi level mobile home. Make sure you check out the finished images at the bottom of the post, it just looks so damn cosy!

Not extreme enough for you? Click here for another camper van build of the more military persuasion.

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Audi S1 V8 TT

Does anyone build normal retro Audi’s? Or are they all completely bonkers? For a car company that emits a rather subdued tone, churning out understated luxury cars with a few sports models in between, their fan-base sure do like to turn up the wick on their own 4-ringed vehicles. This S1 comes courtesy of Dave at EPS Motorsport, an Australian living in the UK, who saw fit to put his Quattro atop a a space frame chassis, with early Formula 1 control arms, composite body panels, and a twin turbo V8 thrown in for good measure.

Click here for more Audi builds.

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1UZFE 1986 MKII Supra

What can I say about builds like these? High quality mods, high quality images, and high quality documentation, everything we all love in a thread, steered by my favourite kind of builder; one with OCD! Another thing I love about this particular build is watching the owner’s skills progress and improve as time goes on. The choice of car is something we haven’t seen on the site before, we’ve had Supra’s, but never a MKII, so it’s refreshing to read about a platform that can sometimes go unnoticed within the nostalgic Japanese community. There’s so much quality here, from fiberglassing, wiring, welding and CAD design – and over 50 pages of it – so get comfortable!

Thank to Zac for submitting.

Click here for more Toyota builds. Click here for more of the best builds on the site.

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1/4 Scale running V8 engine

EDIT: There are a lot of comments and emails asking me about pricing and availability of these engines. I have absolutely no affiliation with them at all, nor do I know how to get one or if they are even able to purchased. If you would like more information, you will have to follow the build thread and contact the owner/builder through the forum. Thank you.

For the last scale build I featured, I mentioned how it stepped things up from the one featured previous to that. We went from a completely plastic and resin model to one with milled aluminium and brass parts. Well here we are again, in the realm of small scale building, and at the risk of sounding repetitive I’m going to tell you that this one steps it up another notch from the last one. Well, “a” notch probably doesn’t sum it up quite adequately, when we’re talking about a complete RUNNING 1/4 scale V8 with fuel injection. Make sure you see the video at the bottom of the post. Simply amazing, and I can’t wait to see the builders next project, a scale V10.

Click here for more scale builds.

Thanks to Jake for submitting.

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Roadster Shop C-10 [video build]

One company I’ve loved following online for the past few years is Roadster Shop. In fact, I’ve featured a couple of their builds before, which you can view by clicking here. While cruising around the Pro Touring forums, which I like to do regularly, I noticed they were undertaking yet another new build. This time, they’re teaming up with Craftsman Tools and putting together a really nice Chevy C-10 pickup, all documented via some slick videos that detail each stage of the process. Apart from the videos there are also high quality images in the thread, which you’ll find at the bottom of the post.

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